The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1887-05-13
IMMIGRATION OF 1887.
Figures Showing How Fast Europeans
Are Coming to America.
tSpeciai Corresnoudenca

Figures Showing How Fast Europeans
Are Coming to America.
Especial Correspondence.l
NEW YORK, Maya
Amy hour of the day that I traverse the
streets of lower New York | meet strange
professions, men and women in queer cloth
ing, carrying queer bundles and chattering
in strange languages. They are Italians,
Poles, Bohemians, Russians and more rarely
Swedes and Irishmen. 1t is the first wave of
that enormous immi grafton which is prom
ised-some would say threatened-for the
year 1897. Already the arrivals amount to
1900 d day. One vessel lately wrecked on
Long Island had over 1.20O Italians aboard.
If tha tate is northumberland the agents tell
us it will be greatly increased-the influx of
Europeans this year will vastly exceed that
of the noted year 1882, when we received 1885,
992 Immigrants; and there is every reason to
believesthat this year the number will exceed
1,0OO,OOO
But the character of the immigration has
greatly changed. Germany now sends us
but one-third as many as she did six or seven
years ago, and Irish immigration, which had
sunk to low level, and revived a little early
in this decade is now falling off. ireland and
Germany have disposed of their surplus pop
ulatipn for the present, and there is room at
home for their increase for a few years. The
countries showing an immense increase are
Russia, Austria, Italy and Hungary. These
figures indicate their growth: In 'S3 Russia
sent us 1871: last year, 23,987. Austrias
contribution has grown from {, 2,707 to 15,772;
Hungary's from 1890 to 1875. On the
other hand, Germany sent us 1913, 468 in 80;
in 'S3 but 176,G91, in 'S4 IA, ,922, the next
year. 9S, Ill and last year only 1909;
and Ireland. which sent SO, 1853 in 'S3, last
year sent but sc, ,4l6. Of the newcomers the
Russians present rather the best appearance,
being tall, vigorous and with an air of reso-
luton. They are chiefly from the grain
growing regions of the Black sea and the
DanubR, and many of them are not Russians
in blood, as people of other races have long
been LOCATED there.
In 1877 Castle Garden was set apart for i'm
migrants, and system of registration estab-
lished; and thence to April of this year
8,456, ,279 have landed there. The Irish immi-
grafton, which was notable as early as 1880,
reached its maximum in the years following
the famine, and i'll one year nearly 100000
Irishmen landed at American ports. And,
strange to say, the immigration to Australia
and Canada was as large in proportion
Hence these startling effects on the island: In
1S41 Ireland contained 8,196,597 people; in
1851, 6,5742 in 1871, 5, ,4l2, ,377, and i'll 1881,
only 5,174,s36.
Before our war it was a subject of frequent
remark that only 3 per cent. of the iulni-
grants settled il the slave states and It was
only natural to expect that emancipation
would bring n change; the foreigner sluns
the competition of the freedman more than
la RI i'll fl,at of 4la
now go south Last year 300, ,SS7 immigrants
registered their destination, and only 6,126
went I'd the south. Connecticut received 1928,
Illinoi1 q, ,5O2: Minnesota, 1887; Wisconsin,
9,145; Pennsylvania, AZ, l03 (nnany miners
among 5them), and New York 100, ,554 Not
only de they go north. but to the extreme
northern belt OF the 10000 Swetles who
have landed at New York in five years,
three-fourths went directly to the far
northwest; and of the 81 ,9o5 who registered
their destination last year, seven-elgi,ths
went northwest of Chicago. The census of
1880 showed that while the center of total
population was nine miles southwest of Gin
cinnati. the center of colored population was
as far southwest OF Macen and that of for
eign just southwest of Toledo That of 1890
is likely to place it even north of that paral-
lei, for the Scandinayians go where their
neighbors and kinslneng have already gone.
The immigration from England is singularly
even, varying but little either way from 49,
600 year. Last year it was 46.215. These
are mostly middle class farmers and artisans.
The Scandinavians are very much of the
same class, and the Russians and Austrians
but little poorer: but the Poles, Hungarians
Bohemians and Italians are from the poorest
of the poor in those lands. 1t is serious
question how far this sudden addition of
i,oO0,0o0 people will affect the labor market;
and, if the influx continues. whether we shall
be slall be able to work them over so fast
into good American citizens.
J. II PARKE